Martial Arts are great, they teach people to defend themselves and can help keep people in shape, even people who don’t train in them can enjoy looking at them at either real martial arts shows or just by watching some cool Martial Arts movies.
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With just how awesome martial arts can be, it’s no wonder that video game developers have been basing their games around them since games have been more than just two sticks on a screen. There are so many games that use martial arts as their base but some do this much better than others.
10Bloody Roar: Primal Fury - 75
TheBloody Roarfranchise was a fighting game franchise that started out on the original PlayStation and had it’s final game come out on the PlayStation 2 and original Xbox. The series has been pretty much silent since then, aside from a few talks about a revival that haven’t amounted to anything. It seems that the last game in the franchise wasn’t the best and that is possibly the reason butBloody Roar: Primal Furyis considered the franchise’s best with a 75 on Metacritic.
TheDead or Alivefranchise is probably more known in the gaming industry for its spinoff beach volleyball series or it’s ever so famous jiggle physics.
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These two things have really overshadowed what is, or was, a really great fighting game franchise that focused on real hand to hand combat and martial arts styles instead of having fireballs shoot out of characters hands or have them have magical powers. The franchise’s most recent entry,Dead Or Alive 5 Pluscurrently sits at an 80 on Metacritic.
8King of Fighters ‘98 - 80
TheKing of Fightersseries has been one that has been going on for a while and has always been somewhat low key, yet has maintained a solid niche within the fighting game genre. The 3-v-3 style of fighting game is whatKing of Fightersgoes with and it has always been action-packed, combining legitimate martial arts skill with the insanity that is the characters different powers and abilities. This series shows off a bunch of different fighting styles andKOF ‘98, the long considered best in the series currently sits at a 90 on Metacritic.
7Virtua Fighter 5 - 81
Virtua Fightermight be the first-ever 3D fighting game in the history of gaming. While it’s fairly safe to say that the 2D fighting games are generally more popular and will probably stay that way, 3D fighting games is a sub-genre that is here to stay and most fighting game players are happy for it. TheVirtua Fighterfranchise has been around for a while and has been steadily releasing games since the early 90s, but Virtua Fighter 5 is considered the pinnacle of the franchise with an 81 on Metacritic.
6Fatal Fury: Mark of the Wolves - 86
Also known asGarou: Mark of the Wolves, Fatal Fury: Mark of the Wolvesis the long-awaited (and also non-canon) follow up to theFatal Furybeat ‘em up franchise. This entry into the series follows Rock Howard, the son of series antagonist Geese Howard and adoptive son of series protagonistTerry Bogard. The game takes place a while after the end of its predecessor and amps up the games beat em up style action to 11.Fatal Fury: Mark of the Wolveshas an 86 on Metacritic.
5Mortal Kombat X - 86
TheMortal Kombatfranchise is one of gamings oldest and most influential fighting games, being the first game to really just dive into how bloody and violent games can really be.
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Despite some clamouring from overprotective parents with nothing better to do, the franchise has stuck around to have 11 entries into its main franchise and a ton of spin-offs. Out of all of those gamesMortal Kombat Xis considered to be the best of the franchise at least out of its recent releases with a 86 on Metacritic.
4UFC Undisputed 3 - 86
The UFC has had games made about it for longer than most people would think. EA has taken over the license to make video games from the world’s largest MMA promotion and has been releasing games like with most other sports properties. There most recent release wasUFC 4. Before the UFC made a deal with EA, however, THQ and Yuke’s were in charge of making titles for the UFC. This was theUFC Undisputedfranchise and its best gameUFC Undisputed 3has a 86 on Metacritic.
3Street Fighter V - 87
Street Fighteris the most popular and iconic fighting game that the gaming industry has had hands down. The franchise has been the biggest name in the game ever since the release ofStreet Fighter II, which had a massive impact on the entire landscape of fighting games. This effect has stayed but it did drop a bit with the home release ofStreet Fighter 4.YetStreet Fighter Vbrought the franchise back to the top with an 87 on Metacritic.
2Fight Night Round 4 - 88
For the sake of this list, yes Boxing is a martial art and is probably the most-watched in all of history, as well as technically being one of the oldest. Boxing hasn’t had a straight forward, sports style simulation game release in a while, but there was a time where games like that were being released regularly. This was theFight Nightseries by EA sports andFight Night Round 4is considered to be the best that the series has to offer with an 88 on Metacritic.
1Tekken 3 - 96
It all comes back to the king of 3D fighting games,Tekken. While Virtua fighter may have started the 3D fighting game sub-genre,Tekken100 percent solidified it as a viable option when compared to 3D fighting games likeStreet FighterandMortal Kombat. TheTekkenfranchise was obviously going to be a big player since it’s first two entries were great but its the third entry into the franchise that really made the game series go above and beyond.Tekken 3currently has a 96 on Metacritic.
